For Sale: Predatory Teenage Allosaurus Fossil

The first predatory dinosaur skeleton to be sold in Britain could fetch up to £500,000 at auction, say curators.

The complete set of rare juvenile Allosaurus bones. nicknamed Young Al, was found in a quarry in Wyoming by a dinosaur hunter in 2010 and includes an articulated skull and a full set of teeth.

The dinosaur lived 145-155 million years ago during the late Jurassic Period and was one of the largest predators of its time, sometimes reaching eight metres (28ft) in length.

Allosaurus dinosaurs - the name means "other lizard" - are thought to have been at the top of the food chain, hunting in packs and preying on large herbivores or even other predators.

They are thought to have attacked their large prey by ambush, using their powerful upper jaws like a hatchet, although juvenile Allosaurus had longer limbs suggesting they were faster and chased their prey.

The predator has featured in films since the early 20th century, including the epic 1925 adventure The Lost World, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 book of the same name.

Rupert van der Werff, director at Summers Place Auctions in Billingshurst, West Sussex, which is hosting the sale, said: "We expect a lot of European and Asian interest in this.

"The Allosaurus, together with the T-Rex, has become the quintessentially large, carnivorous dinosaur in western popular culture.

"Given the size of this Allosaurus it also adds the cute factor and it may not just attract interest from museums, but could also be the wow factor in luxurious living rooms."